By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter
The craze for plastic surgery, suicides of celebrities, and singers and actors doing "comedy" gigs on entertainment programs seem to be separate areas of the local showbiz industry. But they are closely interconnected through the same mechanisms in this fast-changing information and technology era.
Kim Yeon-soo, a culture critic, has picked out five keywords commonly permeating our lives to explain and define current popular trends.
In a new book, "Reasonable Bias for Popular Culture", she chose the five ― deconstruction, interaction, multi, image and reality ― which are prevalent in popular culture these days.
This book provides a comprehensive introduction and examines the problems and possibilities of study in this fast changing field.
Employing a unique approach, Kim uses techniques of deconstruction to unpick, analyze and deconstruct contemporary examples of popular culture. The book looks at various fields to question claims behind the importance of popular culture and encourage readers to form their own interpretations of what they experience every day.
Kim said that the rapid development of communication technology has accelerated "deconstruction", turning people's interest from a meta-narrative to more private and individual matters.
"Popular culture evolves from social customs and conventional wisdoms to the pursuit of individual happiness. The deconstruction process is now happ...
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